Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks (43-19-15, 101 points) and Columbus Blue Jackets (39-30-7, 85 points) hit the ice at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus for the second and final meeting against each other this season. The game can be live streamed here. Chicago fans can hear all of the action on 720 WGN while Columbus fans can do the same on 97.1 The Fan.
Chicago is dealing with injuries to some of its top stars but snapped a three-game losing streak last time out and is headed back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs while Columbus is coming off of a big win that kept their playoff hopes alive but have lost 12 straight against the Blackhawks. The first time these two teams met, the Blackhawks defated the Blue Jackets 6-1 on March 6 in Chicago.
The Blackhawks are coming off of a 3-2 win over the MInnesota Wild 3-2 on Thursday.
"I thought we played the way we had to play. Playing it simple, advancing the puck, check-first mentality and five-man units all over the ice," coach Joel Quenneville said via NHL.com. "I thought we didn't give up much all game. ... Tough one to give up at the end, but I like the way [Crawford] battled back in the shootout. It was fun to get two points in an overtime game, which was something we haven't seen in a long time."
Sergei Bobrovsky shutout his former team as the Blue Jackets defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 on Thursday.
"It was special, definitely," he told NHL.com. "It was exciting there. It was different. It's tough to explain but it was special."
Bobrovsky is 28-19-5 with a 2.42 GAA and a .921 save percentage. He'll likely be opposed by Corey Crawford, who is 30-15-10 with a 2.23 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
The Blackhawks are without two of their top scorers as Patrick Kane (29-40-69) and Jonathan Toews (28-40-68) are both injured. Patrick Sharp (31-42-73) leads the team in scoring.
Ryan Johansen (30-25-55), Brandon Dubinsky (16-30-46) and James Wisniewski (7-39-46) pace Columbus in scoring.
The Blackhawks and Blue Jackets faceoff for the last time tonight when the lights come up at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
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